The Tears They Shed Together
by RealMe07
Summary: "The first time Katherine had seen Jack cry was when she took agonizingly slow steps towards the altar. The first time Jack had seen Katherine cry was their wedding night." The first times Jack and Katherine saw each other cry.


**A/N: So I'm back with another Newsies fic already! I've gotten some nice one shot requests and I'd really enjoy getting some more! I hope you all enjoy this one-shot! Review, favorite, and follow! :)**

The first time Katherine had seen Jack cry was when she took agonizingly slow steps towards the altar, her hesitant and bitter father by her side. He had finally taken off that Newsboys cap for once, his dark hair still in disarray that somehow worked with his outfit fell in his face, his rough hands pushing it away. Once Pulitzer had sighed and handed his only daughter to what he referred to as his "street-rat-of-a-son-in-law", Jack's tears only increased because he realized he had actually given her away, something he lost sleep over the night before. His rough, large hands took Katherine's soft, small ones and kissed them softly, never breaking eye contact with her. She looked beautiful in her white dress, a veil flowing down her back, her auburn hair pinned up on the top of her head. She had perfectly dry eyes, much unlike her fiancé. A big smile was plastered on her face, her grin going from ear to ear. She hadn't stopped smiling since she began walking towards him, her future.

Later that day, once they were finally alone in their very own apartment she asked him why he was so emotional. "I've just never seen you…like that. Not when you proposed, not during the strike, not even when my father gave us his blessing, which I still think he doesn't fully mean." Katherine took Jack's large hands and placed them on her knee, her moving gently over his as she asked him the question that had been bothering her all day.

"I jus'…" He began, a genuine Jack Kelly smile growing on his face as he looked at his now wife. "Neva' thought this would happen ta me. Neva' thought I'd marry a pretty reporta'. And I neva' thought she'd say yes, Ace."

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The first time Jack had seen Katherine cry was their wedding night. His large hands slowly unbuttoned each button on her dress, seeming as if there were a thousand of those little bastards trailing down her big white gown. He furiously fumbled with every one of them, forgetting about the trail of romantic kisses he was placing on her skin that was being more revealed with his every move. He occasionally commented on how he didn't understand how women could do this every day. He didn't notice how his wife had forgotten to breathe until he was nearly half way done.

"Katherine?" He said, full of concern, his brows furrowing together with worry as he turned her head to look at him. "What's da matta?" He frowned, seeing tears well up in her eyes. Katherine could only stare back at him, her mouth agape, but her throat so dry she couldn't reply. "You's is nervous?"

Katherine nodded slowly, letting Jack walk to their bed and sit down on it, gently pulling her to sit beside him. She sat stiffly next to him, her back straight as ever and her head down. She looked so much different than his Katherine in this moment. "I've never done this before." She said so quietly Jack had to take a moment to process what she had said to him.

"Hey…hey, Ace, I knows that." He said gently, wrapping his arm around her and allowing her body to lean against his. He placed a kiss atop her hair, slowly removing the pins from her up do and watching her auburn curls fall down her back. "That's why we's goin' ta go slow." He softly ran his fingers through her hair and felt her tears begin to fall onto his white shirt. "Why so many tears, Ace?"

"You've done this so many times, Jack. I've never done this." Katherine said bluntly through her sniffles. "I just…I don't want to disappoint you tonight. And I heard it is awfully painful and no fun at all for the first while you do it. I don't want that to happen, either." Katherine felt him edge her on, letting her talk as much as she wanted to about her worries. "And what if I'm not as pretty as those other girls were? What if you like them more than me? I've never been naked in front of anyone before and now all of a sudden I'm supposed to easily bare myself before you? I know you're my husband but…this is all so abrupt and so new, Jack. I'm scared." Her last words were said in not more than a whisper, his hands coming to wipe the tears falling from her eyes.

"Katherine, we's married now." Jack said seriously, making her look him in the eye. "I ain't gunna make you do this if you ain't ready. I ain't gunna to compare you to no girls I've…been with. And I's promise to try as hard as I can to make you feel good." He reassured her, kissing her forehead, watching her tears slowly but surely end.

"For sure?" She sniffed, wiping the wetness from her cheeks.

"Fo' sure, Ace."

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The second time she had seen Jack cry was when he came home from work one day, a red cut adorning his lower lip and his left eye bruised and black. Katherine almost immediately sprinted over to him with concern, questions being pelted at him from here and there by his concerned wife.

"Them Delancy's came afta me." He said, wiping a falling tear from his eye and hissing at the pain. "They's threatened you's, Kath. They said some real nasty things. Things they said they'd do ta you's since I cost 'em they's jobs with da strike a month or two back." He watched as she got up to get him a wet rag, pressing it to his wounded lip. "I got real mad at them, Ace. So I beat 'em. Or at least tried ta, but they got me pretty good until Davey and da boys stopped us."

"Oh, Jack…" Katherine said, pain in her eyes as she heard what had happened to her husband. "I'm so sorry. Here, let me get you some water." She said, pressing a glass of water to his lips and gently urging him to drink some. "Please stay home from work tomorrow, Jack; I don't want you getting hurt any further."

"Them Delancy's always pissed me off…but when they's talked that way about my wife…I's sorry, Kath, I lost it. I can't have you gettin' hurt. I'm supposed to protect you. You's my world."

"And you're mine, Mr. Kelly." Katherine gently kissed his cheek that wasn't bruised or cut up and stood him up. "Now let's get you cleaned up, my hero."

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The second time he'd been Katherine cry, she had been all sprawled out on the kitchen floor, every pot and pan and utensil seeming to have been used. She was wearing an apron to cover her dress which now had stains of all sorts covering the once pretty material. That apron idea obviously hadn't worked. Her hands were covering her face and the smell of something burnt or very overdone made him scrunch up his nose once he walked in the door from work.

"Kath, what happened?" He asked, immediately dropping his bag in the entryway and racing over to her side.

"I was trying to cook dinner and…" Katherine looked like a mess. Her nose was red from crying and her eyes were welled up with tears. "I swear I followed all the directions in that damned cookbook perfectly, Jack! I swear I did! I think that oven is broken. And we got bad ingredients." She said with a comical sob into her hands, pointing at the burnt meat Jack assumed once was a chicken and the various vegetables that were stuck to the pan.

"Aw Ace, you's didn't need to cook all this." Jack said gently, sitting down next to her, one knee up with his arm resting on it. "Ya know I'm content with those sandwiches you's making all the time and the little things like that."

"But we always have that and I wanted to try and cook you a nice meal…I'm such an awful wife! I can't even feed my husband!" Katherine continued to sob into her hands with such sorrow and frustration over something so little and Jack struggled to keep a straight face and not laugh at his silly little wife.

"C'mon, Kath. You's the best wife in da world." He kissed her forehead. "Next time we's gunna buy betta' things ta cook wit' but for now let's make some of those sandwiches." He held out a hand for her and watched her look up at him and stare for a minute before taking his hand and standing up, smoothing her skirts and wiping away her tears.

Katherine curtly nodded as she began to butter two pieces of bread. "I'll stick to those sandwiches until we get a new oven. I'm still certain it's the oven's fault."

Now Jack could finally laugh at her.


End file.
